Note: This chapter is pure self indulgence. It's basically my version of what happens after they get rid of Pestilence. If sick!fic is not your thing, skip this chapter.
Chapter 17: Divine Intervention
Andy knew Dean almost said yes. She also knew it was all for Sam. In a way she was proud of Dean, for not giving up. Not giving in. But she knew he was still having a hard time with everything. So when the boys caught a case, she didn't try to stop them. She did send Dyson with them though. He was board anyway. She stayed at Bobby's and kept researching horsemen and other apocalyptic apocrypha. When the boys ran into a hotel full of old world gods and learned from Gabriel that the horsemen's rings were the key to Lucifer's cage, she actually felt hopeful. The boys started tracking Pestilence across the country. All he was doing creating an epidemic of swine flu. But he was easily keeping one step ahead of them. When she heard the boys were working with Crowley again, she had a bad feeling again. This demon was getting too much into their lives. But there was nothing she could say to change the boys minds. He said he could get them to Pestilence, so they went with it. When Dean called after they had got a location, he was not in a good mood. Apparently the demon that they had captured was one of Sam's old school friend. The one who had introduced him to Jess. Sam killed him, and now Dean was even more worried about his brother. Not because he had killed him, but because of the rage he had showed while doing it. Andy didn't know what to say to that. She was just glad Dean agreed to let her help when they went after Pestilence.
A few days later
"Andy you are not going in there!" Dean said adamantly.
"Why the hell not?" Andy said indignantly. She looked to Dyson for support, but she should have known better. He didn't want her going in any more than Dean did.
"Because, that's why." Dean grumbled.
"Seriously Dean. That's your argument."
"Andy please, just stay here. Please?" Andy sighed. She didn't like it, but it was a rare thing for her to be able to say no to Dean when he said please to her.
"Fine, but if you aren't out in 30 minutes I'm coming in after you."
"Deal." She watched her boys walk cautiously into the hospital. Pestilence made her nervous. He had stayed hidden this long. When their 30 minutes was up she ran into the hospital. It was just as she was through emergency that the vision hit. The boys on the floor blood trickling out of both their mouths. Where the hell was Dyson? Pestilence with a contented smile playing at his lips. Then she saw Cas burst through the door. He took two steps then dropped to his knees blood pouring out of his mouth. Pestilence strode over to him to gloat.
"An occupied vessel. But powerless." Pestilence grinned. "There's not a speck of angel in you is there?" Then Dyson appeared and grabbed him from behind. Cas lunged for the knife, got it and brought it down on the horseman's hand.
"Maybe just a speck." Cas said.
"It doesn't matter. You're too late." The horseman said and vanished. Andy ran through the halls and found all three of the boys just picking themselves up. Dean coughed up the last bit of blood that was in his mouth and caught sight of her.
"Looks like you got it done." Andy said checking her boys over.
"Yea…I guess." Together they got themselves out of the hospital and into the Impala. Dyson took himself back to Bobby's while the others drove. They were about three hours into the drive when Andy felt that something was off. Sam and Cas were both passed out in the back. Which was not all the strange, except angels don't sleep, and watching carefully, Andy could see that Dean was nodding. She touched him lightly on the shoulder.
"Babe, pull over before you drive us off the road." Dean gave her a side long glance. He said nothing, but pulled off to the shoulder. That only deepened Andy's feeling that something wasn't right. Dean got out of the car and Andy slid behind the wheel. Before she pulled out she gave Dean an appraising look.
"What?" he said. His voice lower than usual.
"Dean, are you ok?"
"Yea Andy, just tired, like everybody." He yawned and settled against the door. Andy sighed and pulled the car back onto the road. They had close to three more hours to go. Dean started to cough one hour after Andy took over. She was starting to think cutting off Pestilence's ring hadn't completely wiped the boys clean. She silently cursed. A few minutes later she heard Sam quietly sneeze in his sleep. She prayed they could get to Bobby's before the boys figured out what was happening. When Castiel coughed quietly she prayed for divine intervention, because that was what she was going to need to get through this mess.
When they pulled in to Bobby's all the boys were awake. They all looked beat, but were not letting on how bad they really felt. Andy got them inside and commanded each of them to bed. Each one protested, and each one gave up. Including Cas. Then Andy sat down with Bobby, Dyson and a glass of rum.
"Well, nice to bat a home run once and a while." Andy sighed and took a drink. "What?" Bobby asked suspiciously.
"Last thing he said…'It's too late.'"
"I don't like the sound of that."
"Yea. Probably more to it than this, but all three of the boys are coming down with something. Parting gift I think." Bobby's eyes widened. Dyson rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Balls"
"Say that again. There is no way I can heal them all. They're just going to have to ride it out."
"Well, we had better get stocked up." Bobby said getting up and grabbing his keys.
"Thanks Bobby." Andy said. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"Go get some rest darlin'. You're gonna need it." She sighed, finished her drink, then went upstairs and crawled into bed with Dean.
Andy was woken by the bed shaking. She rolled over to find Dean sitting on the edge of the bed in the midst of a coughing fit he was desperately trying to stifle it. Oh shit.
"Dean," she said gently. He jumped and a sneeze escaped him. "Bless you."
"Sorry, for waking you up." He said with a sniff.
"S'ok babe. Come back to bed." Andy tried to pull him back into her, but he resisted.
"We've got work to do." He got up, sneezed into his arm, and started getting dressed. Andy rolled her eyes. She got up and put her arms around him.
"Dean. You know you can't hide this from me."
"Hide what."
"That your sick. I've known since last night."
"Don't know-" but he was interrupted by another volley of coughing. Andy rubbed his back soothingly.
"See, told you. I think Pestilence left you all with a parting gift."
"All of us?"
"I'm pretty sure Sam and Cas have it too." Dean sighed.
"Doesn't mean we can't get things done."
"At least for now…no. I guess not." Andy leaned up and kissed his cheek. Her sneaky way of checking for fever. For now, Dean was cool.
It was a very sickly morning. Andy felt bad for Cas who was, for the first time in existence, experiencing a cold. Every time he sneezed or coughed he looked confused. Dyson seemed to find that hilarious and spent most the day bugging Cas about it. Andy tired to ply the boys with drugs, but being their usual selves they refused.
"They make us drowsy," Sam commented. So for the time being, Andy gave up. They poured through books, news papers, anything they could think of to give them a hint as to where Death might end up. Dyson tried complaining about looking for Death when he could just go find him.
"Dyson, you have pissed him off way too much. Letting you go try find him would likely get you killed." Andy said.
"Andrea, it's me. I won't get killed."
"No, Dyson. It's not happening." Dyson opened his mouth to say something else but he was interrupted by Cas sneezing harshly. Everyone looked at him. Dyson glanced at Andy and gave up. He knew Andy needed him there to help.
Andy watched as her boys started to run themselves down. Sam's nose was bright red, his eyes seemed to barely be able to stay open. Cas was rumpled and distracted, sitting on the couch dozing off. Dean was pale, dark circles under his eyes and looked generally miserable. She wasn't sure when she started thinking that this was a pointless endeavor with the boys like this. Maybe it was when Sam blew his nose for the hundredth time, or when Dean's cough started to get chesty, but what really did it was Dean stumbling against the wall. Whatever it was there was a point where Andy threw down her notes and stood up.
"Ok, that's it. All of you need to go to bed. Now." Andy said looking at each of them in turn.
"Andy, come on. We-"
"Dean, shut up. You're all sick, off your game, we are getting nowhere. Go to bed, get some rest we can tackle this shit when you're better." Apparently her speech did the trick. Sam and Cas went without much fuss. Sam to his room, Cas curled up on the couch in Bobby's office. They both looked exhausted. But Dean sat down with a book and a look that suggested he would refuse to move. Andy sighed.
"Dean,"
"Andy, we need to get this toge-together" he sneezed violently. He put a hand to his head. Andy went over to him and knelt in front of him. She took the book off his lap where it had fallen. He tried to protest, but she put a finger to his lips.
"Dean, baby, you need to stop." he rolled his eyes at her. "Hey look at me." He glanced at her. "You're sick, and running yourself into the ground won't help anyone. Come to bed and let me take care of you." She stood up and held out a hand to him. He looked at her for a moment, then took it. She climbed into bed with him and slept for a few hours. When she woke, Dean was still sleeping soundly next to her, breathing through his mouth. She kissed him lightly on the shoulder, then got up. She wasn't the one down with a nasty cold, no reason she couldn't keep working. She looked in on Cas. He was still out cold, curled on the couch. Andy thought she saw him shiver slightly, so she went and got a blanket for him, as well as a pillow. He snuggled in without waking up. Bobby got up shortly after she did and worked with her. Dyson wandered in shortly after that.
"How is everyone?" he asked.
"Still asleep thankfully. Hopefully they stay that way for a while." Andy replied. A few hours in Bobby was making breakfast, Dyson was out looking for a reaper or spirit to talk to, and Andy hadn't got anywhere. She sighed and threw down her papers. She heard a soft creak and turned to see Dean in the door way. He looked rough. He was still pale, the dark smudges were still under his eyes. She could see he was trembling, and his hair was a mess. He took a few steps into the room and almost lost his footing. Andy jumped up and caught him before he crashed into something.
"Dean, what are you doing up?"
"You weren't there. I wanted to find you."
"That's sweet babe, but you really should still be sleeping." She brought him to a chair and sat him down. She leaned in and kissed his forehead. The way he was moving, Andy was positive he had a fever, but she wanted to check. She wasn't surprised at the amount of heat coming off him. "You're feverish." Dean looked at her like she was stating the painfully obvious.
"When am I not feverish with a cold." Andy had to chuckle. He was right. Dean smiled at her, then coughed roughly into his fist.
"Well if you won't go to bed, feel for some breakfast and drugs?" Dean hesitated at the mention of drugs, but he nodded slowly. Andy smiled and kissed him again.
Sam and Cas got up an hour later, not looking much better than Dean. Andy made them take some medicine as they were both running fevers as well. Cas tried very hard to tell Andy that the medicine wouldn't do anything for him.
"Cas, for now, you're human, so humor me. Ok?" It was strange, usually when Sam and Dean were sick they would complain bitterly, but for now, everyone was quiet and subdued. They worked as much as they could, but not much got done between sneezing, coughing and fighting off dizzy spells. When Andy was trying to think of something to make for dinner, she suddenly remembered Dean, sick with a bad flu, years ago and Sam telling her he liked tomato rice soup when he was sick. She smiled to herself at the memory and went to work. It was just about ready when Dean came wandering into the kitchen. Andy looked over her shoulder at him. He looked miserable, but no worse. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"What's for dinner?" he asked, voice rough.
"Tomato rice soup." she answered stirring the pot. She felt Dean tense. She was afraid she had made a mistake. She turned in his arms and looked up at him. Dean was looking at her with an expression that sent pangs through her heart. It was something between awe, gratitude, pain, and love. His eyes shone, and he raised a hand to her face and caressed it.
"How did I get so lucky to have you?" he said quietly. Andy laid her hand over his and squeezed. Dean leaned in and kissed her softly. Then Andy turned back to the soup and Dean wrapped his arms around her again. Dyson wandered in just before they all sat down. He hadn't had any luck finding anyone or anything particularly helpful. They all enjoyed the soup. The boys were all still miserable, but they weren't seriously sick. Which was making Andy nervous. Pestilences last act wouldn't be to give his killers a bad cold. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The next day came and went uneventfully. The boys were lethargic but well enough to function. Andy kept a close eye on Dean. He seemed to have, whatever it was, the worst. His cough was deep and chesty, he was obviously dizzy, and Andy saw him shiver every once and a while. She got them to bed early and kept working with Bobby and Dyson. It was 1am when she finally crawled into bed. She woke no more than two hours later to a harsh coughing fit from Dean. He was sitting up in bed trying desperately to catch a breath. Andy sat up and put a hand on his back. It was tight as a bow string.
"Dean, you need to relax or it will just get worse." She could feel him trying. Andy manoeuvred herself in front of him and him look at her. "Dean, breathe with me. Come on." She got him taking deep breaths with her. Finally he managed to stop coughing. "Ok now?" she asked. He nodded. "Let me get you some water," she said. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. She was startled at the amount of heat coming off his face. She pressed her wrist to his head. "You're burning up baby." Dean sighed and shivered.
"Can't stay warm." Andy pursed her lips.
"Ok, let me get you some water and Tylenol. Sit tight." She got up and got Dean a glass and the pills. Then she went to check on Sam and Cas. If Dean was worse, she bet they would be too. She knocked softly on Sam's door.
"Sammy, it's me," she said as she went in. Apparently Sam had thought it was a good idea to try and get some work done in bed. He was sitting up, light on, head lolled to one side. Andy could hear his congested breathing from the doorway. Andy sighed, but couldn't help the affectionate smile creep over her face. She couldn't count the number of times she tucked Sam in after finding him just like this. She went over and brushed the stray hair out of his eyes. When she did, her smile faded. Sam was burning up too. She shook his shoulder.
"Sam. Wake up." He started slightly and opened his eyes. It took him a moment to focus.
"Hey Andy," he said roughly, and coughed.
"Hey Sammy. Sorry I woke you, I just wanted to get some meds into you." She held out a glass and some Tylenol. Sam took them.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Now, how about you give up reading and actually get some decent sleep." Sam looked a little sheepish, but he settled down. Next Andy went down to check on Cas. The angel looked worse than both Dean and Sam combined. His speck of angel was not doing him much good. His hair was wild, his face was pale. He was shaking, almost violently, and after a moment Andy realized he was whimpering. Her heart melted for him. Other shoe. Although she and Cas had a bit of a rocky relationship, her need to help people who were hurting won out. She knelt next to the couch and passed a gentle had over his head. Hot and dry. Cas opened his eyes at her touch. She was shocked to see so much pain in them.
"Cas, it's Andy. What hurts?" He blinked, not really registering who was with him.
"Everything," he said quietly.
"Ok sweetie, but I need more specific. Help me out Cas." Cas raised a shaking hand and put it on his head, then on his chest. "Good, that's good. Now is it hard to breathe?" He nodded. "Ok, does it hurt to breath?" he shook his head. "Does it hurt to cough?" he nodded. "Ok Cas, you're doing good. I'm going to get you something for it" Cas shook his head and reached out to her.
"Won't work."
"I know drugs won't work on you Cas. I've learned that, but I have some experience with herbal remedies, I'm going to give those a try ok?" He hesitated, then nodded. She had hid her fear well. Cas was really sick. His fever was high, his lungs sounded awful and she could tell he was weak. She had to wake Bobby and Dyson for help.
"I'm sorry. Cas is really bad. The drugs are doing nothing for him. I want to try him on some herbal stuff." She listed what she would need. Bobby had most of it, and knew where he could get the rest quickly.
"Do you want me to go?" Dyson asked. Andy shook her head. Dyson smiled softly at her.
"You two going to be ok with them by yourselves?" Bobby asked
"Not much worse than anything we've dealt with before." Andy said. Bobby looked at her hard. She dropped her bravado. "We'll be ok Bobby. Really." he nodded and left. Andy sent Dyson to the basement for spare blankets and any other supplies he thought they might need. Then she sat down in the office and put her head in her hands. They could not afford this right now. She couldn't heal them all, and she needed them to help figure out where Death was. While she was wallowing, for the second time, she heard the floor creak and looked up to see Dean in the door way. He didn't look much better, but he seemed a bit steadier on his feet at the moment.
"You ok?" his voice was thick with concern. She had to laugh.
"You're the one that looks like death and you're asking me if I'm ok?"
"You didn't come back to bed." He came over and sat on the desk in front of her.
"I went and checked on Sam and gave him some drugs. Then I came to check on Cas…" Dean looked at her, eyes nervous. "He's pretty bad Dean."
"Bad how?"
"The drugs aren't doing anything for him. He's in pain, and he doesn't know how to handle it. He doesn't have experience with this stuff." Dean sighed and passed a hand over his face. Andy stood and put an arm around him. "Come on. You should go see him." Dean nodded. She took him into the room.
"Hey Cas,"
"Dean?" Cas' voice was wrecked.
"Hey Cas."
"Dean, I'm sorry…I'm sorry."Then coughed hard. Dean looked at Andy confusion and concern etched on his face. Andy could only shrug.
"It's ok Cas. There's nothing to be sorry for." Dean gave the angel and friendly pat on the shoulder. "Let's get you better ok? Go back to sleep." Cas nodded and snuggled back down into his blanket. Dean looked lost. Dyson came in then with a few spare blankets. He looked at Cas and sighed. Then caught sight of Dean. His brow furrowed in concern.
"Hey," he said putting a hand on his friend's shoulder "you ok?" Dean just nodded and wandered out of the room. Andy followed him out glancing at Dyson sharing his concerned look. Andy saw Dean sag against the wall. She went over to him and put a comforting hand on his arm. "How are you feeling babe?" she asked softly.
"I'm fine Andy." Dean replied. Andy sighed.
"You are not fine Dean. You should go back to bed."
"I can't."
"Dean, please"
"Andy, I can't. Not with…" He glanced back towards the study.
"Not with Cas like this." Andy said finishing his thought. He nodded.
"Look Dean, I'm sure, whatever this is, Cas can beat it. He is an angel after all."
"I know. It's just…he's so…you know…"
"Not skilled at being human." Dean chuckled. He coughed just after, a dry bark that made Andy's chest squeeze. "Dean, you can't do anything for Cas when you're this sick yourself." Dean looked at her over his fist. She held out a hand to him. "Come on babe. Go back to bed. If anything changes, anything better or worse, I'll come wake you up. Ok?" Dean hesitated, but he nodded and took Andy's hand. She got him back into bed.
"Watch out for him," Dean said. Andy nodded.
"You know I will," and she went back down to Cas. Within the hour his fever was starting to yo-yo. It would climb and climb until it broke and Cas would sweat bullets for about 20 minutes and it would come down. Then it would just start to climb again. Andy tried to keep up but it was challenging. Dyson helped by keeping hot and cool water on hand. When Bobby came back with the supplies she asked for, Andy made an infusion for Cas and managed to get him to drink it all. He slept after that. Real sleep, not fevered unconsciousness. Andy dozed off in a chair warped in one of the spare blankets. She hadn't even noticed she had fallen asleep until someone was shaking her. She opened her eyes. Dyson had a hand on her shoulder. Andy panicked, thinking one of the boys had taken a turn for the worst. Dyson nodded to the couch. Cas was sitting up, hair an absolute mess, eyes clear of fever. She sighed.
"Cas? Hey, how are you feeling."
"Much improved thanks to you." Andy smiled at the ex-angel. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
"That's good. I'm so glad."
"That...drink you gave me was very invigorating." Andy laughed. Cas looked slightly embarrassed. "Thank you Andy. For everything."
"You're welcome Cas." She stood up and gave Cas a kiss on the head. He looked vaguely confused, which made Andy laugh again. Just then Bobby shuffled in, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
"How's our angel." he said gruffly. She looked at him and smiled slightly.
"Much better it seems." Andy said nodding at the couch. Bobby looked to see Cas sitting up.
"Good to see." he said. Cas just nodded. Andy looked at Dyson.
"I should go check on the boys." she said "and you should get some sleep. You look beat, which is rather rare for you." Dyson nodded and headed down to his room.
"I can keep an eye on this one." Bobby said looking Cas over.
"I think I may…rest some more." Andy smiled at the innocence of the human angel. The concept of rest was too foreign for Cas, but he seemed to be embracing it at the moment. She made her way up stairs. She checked on Sam first. He was sleeping soundly. He still sounded congested, but his fever was down. Andy smiled and sighed again, her boys were coming down to normal. Finally, she went to see Dean. When she opened the door, her good mood dropped a few pegs. It was hot and sticky in the room. She went over to the bed. Dean was twisted up in sheets and blankets. Suddenly she heard a sound. It was a pathetic whimper of pain and misery. Andy's heart made a painful thump.
"Dean?" She sat on the bed and brushed a hand over his head. The heat coming off of him was shocking."God, you're burning." Andy tried to keep the panic out of her voice. Dean moaned and opened his eyes.
"Andy? How's Cas, is he ok?" Andy almost broke down. No matter how bad he felt, Dean was always thinking of someone else before himself.
"He's fine, Dean. Just fine. So is Sam. But right now, you need to focus on yourself ok babe." Andy said trying to hold back tears.
"You ok? You sound funny." Dean tried to sit up but collapsed back onto his pillow. He coughed hard.
"I'm fine Dean."
"Andy. I don't feel good." he said taking his hand away from his mouth. It was covered in blood. Andy stared horrified. She swallowed hard and ran a soothing hand through Dean's hair.
"I know baby. Tell me what hurts." she couldn't keep her voice from cracking
"Everything," Andy's laugh at the symmetry had a tinge of hysteria. "I'm gonna get you better ok. Just sleep a bit more for now, please." Dean nodded and settled back into the pillow. Andy was nearly in tears. It figured that the one time she wasn't focused on Dean was the one time he really needed her. She stroked Dean's burning head. Running her fingers through his damp hair. For a long moment she sat there, just watching him. Then she shook herself and got up. She closed the door quietly behind her and came face to face with Sam. He at least, looked ten times better.
"Hey. Good morning." he said with a smile, until he saw Andy's face. "Andy you look awful." Andy rolled her eyes trying hard to hold the tears back. "Andy, what's wrong?" She took a deep breath.
"Dean's coughing up blood, and his fever is really high." Sam took a step back.
"What?" his eyes were wide. "How did that happen?"
"I…I wasn't with him last night. Cas was really bad, and Dean asked me to stay with him." her voice cracked again. She took a deep shaky breath "He was worried and he wasn't that bad when I sent him back to bed…" she ran out of words mostly because her voice had abandoned her for tears. Sam was giving her the scared puppy look. Suddenly he had her tight in a hug. Andy buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
"I know he'll be ok. He has you here with him." Sam said Andy let herself be comforted for a moment. Then she pulled away.
"I have work to do." She said wiping her eyes. She looked up into Sam's face, which was reflecting her own fears. "I promise, I'll get him better." So she went to work. She sent Bobby and Dyson out for special herbs. She kept Dean as cool as she could. She worked hard for a full day mixing, brewing, and praying. Sam and Cas sat with Dean, looking worried, but holding it together. When she gave Dean the infusion, he was completely delirious, coughing constantly, blood staining his lips. She knew the infusion wouldn't be enough. Whatever disease was raging through Dean's body, a basic herbal infusion would help, but it wouldn't cure. Andy knew what she had to do. She managed to get Sam and Cas out of the room. Promising she would call them if anything happened. When they was gone she closed the door and sat in the quiet for a long time. When she was ready, she slipped into her sight and went to work. It was easier than the last time. She managed to channel the power of the infusion she had made and boost its properties. But, this wasn't just pneumonia, so she had to work that much harder. The last thing she remembered was holding Dean's hand, seeing his lungs clear, and watching him breath easily. It was Sam that found her, passed out on the floor, breathing shallow. Dean just waking up.
"Sam?" he said his voice rough, but clear of any delirium "What's going on? Why are you on the floor?" Sam scooped Andy up in his arms.
"It's ok Dean. She's going to be fine." Dean looked confused at his brother.
"What happened?"
"Just give me a second Dean. I'll come fill you in." Dean wasn't going to wait. He flung his blanket off and followed Sam out of the room. Sam laid Andy on the bed he had been sleeping in. Dean sat down and took her had.
"Sam, what the hell happened?"
"What do you remember?"
"She sent me back to bed after I saw Cas. Is he ok?"
"I'm fine Dean." Cas' deep voice came from the door way. Dean sighed, but didn't get up.
"Andy made Cas a tea from a bunch of folk remedies that really helped him. She went back to check on you and me. You were coughing blood and had a really high fever. So she made you a tea as well. But I think she…healed you too…" Dean looked at Andy's pale face and shook his head.
"Andy, you idiot."
"Dean, she'll be fine. She's done this before." Sam said. Dean brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. Both Sam and Cas marveled at the tenderness Dean was showing. He got up and turned to them.
"So, what's the word on Death?"